SUBJECT AND VERB AGREEMENT - CONCORD

PRONOUNS
I	I	am verb
Singular  Subject          +        is/verb(s)	He She It One	is verb(s)
Plural Subjects        +        are/verb	We They You Many	are verb
AND
Nouns Joined           +        are/ verb With “and”	X and Y	are verb
Both X and Y	Both X and Y	are verb
2 nouns joined by “and” BUT Treated as ONE unit	Fish and chips Rock and roll Trial and error	is verb(s)
SPECIAL PRONOUNS
Everybody  Everyone Everything Somebody Someone Something Anybody  Anyone  Anything Nobody   No one   Nothing		is verb(s)
QUANTIFYING WORDS
Every Each Each of Not one of More than one	Every boy Each boy Each of the boys Not one of the boys More than one boy	is verb(s)
ALL
All  except… All but…	All except Tim All except the boys	are verb
All + Countable……..…plural verb	All the boys	are verb
All + Uncountable….singular verb	All the rice	is verb(s)
THERE
Singular Noun	There is	one dog.
Plural Noun	There are	many dogs.
(Proximity Rule)   When “and” is used, “be” verb agrees with first item	There is There are	a dog and two cats. two cats and a dog.
UNCOUNTABLE (THINGS)
Uncountable Noun Water  Smoke  Food  Bread Hair  Sugar Salt	Water Salt Food	is/ verb(s)
Uncountable Noun (group of things)	Traffic Furniture Clothing Jewellery	is/ verb(s)
COLLECTIVE NOUNS (ANIMALS)
A group of animals Groups of animals	A flock of ducks Flocks of ducks	is/ verb(s) are/verb
Special Nouns – always plural Never singular	Cattle Vermin	are/verb Verb is NEVER singular.
Animals depends on context deer, sheep, fish, salmon,  trout, haddock, plaice Same in spelling for singular or plural form	The deer (one) The deer (many) This fish (one) These fish(many)	is/ verb(s) are/verb is/ verb(s) are/verb Verb can be singular or plural depending on the subject.
PEOPLE
Collective Nouns  (Depends on context).       Audience   Band  Class  Committee  Family  Jury  Staff  Team
Group as one whole – follows singular verb.	The football team This class The family	practises with its coach. has the best results. lives in woodlands.
Group as many individuals-follows plural verb.	The football team This class The family	are trying their best. are excited about the outing. have been falling sick.
SPECIAL NOUNS
(referring to many people) Noun is always in plural form… follows plural verb.	Police Personnel Rich Poor	are/ verb
NOUN PHRASE
The main noun is singular, use singular verb.	The smell of Milo The noise of the plane The use of the mobile phones	is/ verb(s)
The main noun is plural, use plural verb.	The toys in the box The pencils on the table	are/verb
ONE OF
“One of” phrase follows a singular verb as it agrees with the singular noun “one”.	One of my boys	is
ONE OF … WHO
“One of…who” phrase follows a plural verb as it agrees with the plural noun before “who”.	One of the boys who  Tom is one of the boys who	steal is my friend. like to steal.
SPECIAL PHRASES
Together with    Along with    As well as    In addition to    With    Like
The Noun Phrase before the special phrases decides the verb used.
John	together with xxx	is/verb(s)
The boys	together with xxx	are/verb
NEITHER …OF EITHER…OF
“Either…of” and “Neither…of” follow singular verbs. Either means one of two. Neither means none of two.	Either one of the boys Neither of these boys	is/ verb(s)
EITHER…OR NEITHER…NOR
The verb agrees with the subject nearest to it.	Either the boys or John Neither the boys nor John	is/ verb(s)
	Either John or his boys Neither John nor the boys	are/ verb
OR
When a verb follows a list of nouns linked by “or”, it agrees with the subject nearest to it.	Eating or drinking Alan, Mary or John	is/ verb(s)
A NUMBER/A TOTAL               THE NUMBER/THE TOTAL
A number/ a total (meaning many) follows a plural verb.	A number of Sars cases A total of thirty boys	are/ verb
The number/ the total (meaning a specific number) follows a singular verb.	The number of Sars cases The total number of boys	is/ verb(s)
TIME  MONEY  DISTANCE
As a single unit/sum…use singular verb.	Two months Five kilometres Ten dollars (as a sum, not ten individual dollars).	is not a lot.
As a plural unit…use plural verb	Two months	have passed quickly.
PERCENTAGE
When percentage/percent is used in front of a singular noun, use singular verb.	A small percentage of the working population	does not save.
When percentage/percent is used in front of a plural noun, use plural verb.	A small percentage of the workers Five per cent of the pupils	do not save. are girls.
“The percentage” always follows a singular verb.	The percentage of boys	is/ verb(s)
MAJORITY  MINORITY
Always with plural verbs	The majority of the boys A minority of the boys	are/ verb
TITLES
Titles of books, films or songs Names of countries and places Use a singular verb.	“The Three Little Pigs” The Himalayas	is/ verb(s)